University of North Florida
Board of Trustees
Educational Policy Committee

Members Present

Members Absent

Hank Rogers and Luther Coggin

Chair Hicks asked for a motion to approve the previous minutes circulated prior to the meeting. The minutes were approved unanimously. The meeting convened at 12:15 p.m.

The Lady Ospreys basketball team was recognized and presented with roses. The team was ranked No. 11 in the final NCAA Division II national poll released Monday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, marking the first time in the 11-year history of the program that UNF finished the season ranked in the Top 25. The Lady Ospreys ended the 2002-03 season with a 20-12 overall record and advanced to the Elite Eight in their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Coach Mary Tappmeyer introduced assistant coach Nancy Miller stating that she had done an amazing job and was primarily responsible for recruiting the team.

Approval of a Master’s of Arts and a Master’s Degree in Biology

Vice President Camp spoke of his pleasure in presenting a proposition for the first master’s degree program in the natural sciences, stating that it was a dream of the faculty in Biology. Dr. Camp introduced Dr. Greg Ahearn, UNF’s new chair in Biology, speaking of Dr. Ahearn’s wealth of experience in graduate education and outside funding. The two degrees (M.S. with thesis and M.A. without thesis) would meet the needs of teachers and professionals working in areas such as healthcare, water management, and other local industries. There would be two tracks in each degree program: ecology/environmental biology and micro/molecular biology. The numbers of positions and hires in the fields in Northeast Florida provided strong evidence of a need for the programs.

Trustee Tony Crawford inquired about the additional resources for funding. Dr. Camp explained that the proposal provided a detailed plan for resources needed and sources for these resources. Dr. Ahearn explained that they were in the process of applying for grants and hiring two additional instructors who would bring grants with them and that the proposed program was likely to increase external grant funding for basic biological research at UNF. Dr. Rossi, Assistant Professor in Biology, explained that he also would be submitting a grant. Trustee Crawford asked if there was any likelihood of receiving funds from the State. Dr. Serwatka stated that some of the funds had already been budgeted by the university for new positions. In addition to funds received from the State, the faculty anticipated the ability to match those funds. They anticipated an enrollment of 6-10 students the first year. The program would eventually enroll approximately 30 students. Full-time students would be enrolled for 9 credit hours during the fall and spring semesters. During the summer semester, students would enroll for 1-3 credit hours. FTE’s were based on 34 credit hours per year per student.

Trustee Abdullah asked if there were any technology courses and why there were no database courses. Dr. Ahearn replied that faculty were already using these databases for their research and that as the program expands that was one area where they might be able to add new coursework.

The committee voted to recommend approval of the program.

Tenure Nominations

Dr. Camp began by explaining the promotion and tenure process. He explained that granting tenure was the most critical and important decision a university could make. At UNF this decision was based on a long and thorough process that began at the department level. The chair reviewed recommendations, it was then forwarded to the dean of the college for review, and on to the University Promotion and Tenure Committee made up of faculty members from each of the colleges. The committee spent approximately 6-7 weeks reading and discussing dossiers. From there, the Provost performed a similar review and wrote his recommendations. Recommendations were then sent to the President for review, and finally, a decision was made to recommend or not recommend. The candidates presented for promotion and tenure, Mark Dickman, Gordon Brock and J. B. Scott (Department of Music), J. Michael Francis (History), Mei-Quin Zhan (Mathematics and Statistics), Chery Van Deusen (Marketing, Management, and Logistics), Ajayi Adewale (Computer and Information Systems), Michael Hallett, and Adam Shapiro (Sociology and Criminal Justice), and Michael Lentz (Biology), had all successfully completed the review process and were recommended to the Board of Trustees for tenure.

Dr. Camp explained that sometimes faculty who came to the University with tenure would be required to go through the same process that new faculty, who did not have tenure, went through. On other occasions, tenure would become a condition of hire. In these situations, the candidate’s record would be examined by the hiring department, and a vote would be taken among tenured faculty in the department. The college dean, Provost and President would also need to approve tenure, as would the Board of Trustees. One such candidate was also presented to the Committee: Dr. Michael Hervok, a proposed faculty member in Psychology.

Chair Hicks asked what happened to course surveys where students rated a professor. Dr. Camp explained that they were used by faculty. These data were also used in post tenure review. The Committee approved the motion to forward the nominations to the Board of Trustees.

Increase in Hours for Education Programs

Kathe Kasten, Dean, College of Education, requested that the committee recommend approval of increased credit hour requirements for a set of undergraduate programs. The increase would cause the programs to exceed the 120 hour rule, necessitating approval from the Board of Trustees. The increase in hours resulted from State mandates to increase teacher training hours in the area of literacy and to provide specific groups of teachers with ESOL endorsement.

A motion was made to approve the request.

Equity Study in Athletics

Kathy Klein, assistant Athletics Director, gave a brief background report regarding Athletics’ Gender Equity Study. She explained that annually Florida’s public universities completed Gender Equity Progress Reports for their respective athletics programs. The Division of Colleges and Universities requested that each board of trustees review and approve its university’s report.

Klein referred to UNF’s 2002 report. The report documented UNF’s successes in achieving its long-term goals and in providing expanded opportunities for female and male athletes. The University had made exceptional progress toward the goal of offering participation opportunities in direct proportion to the University’s undergraduate enrollment. While UNF had not achieved direct proportionality at this point, the University continued to be in compliance with Title IX through Part Two of its three-part test in demonstrating a “history and continuing practice of program expansion for the underrepresented sex.”

A motion was made and passed to recommend approval of the report.

UNF Equity Plan

Lina Monell, Director of Equal Opportunity Programs, gave a quick summary of the Equity Accountability program, enacted in 1992 by the Florida Legislature requiring the establishment of a program to increase the number of women and minorities in three different job groups: senior-level administrative positions, academic administrative positions, and ranked faculty positions. The program required that an annual Equity Accountability Plan be submitted by April 1 of each year by the university President to the State Board of Education, Division of Colleges and Universities. This year a draft was submitted by April 1 and the final report would be submitted by May 1, pending Board of Trustees’ approval.

After discussion on the report, a motion was made and passed to recommend approval of the plan.